Shuttle For Use In A Three-Dimensional Warehouse System

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a shuttle ( 108 ) for retrieving goods in a warehouse system comprising a three-dimensional arrangement of storage spaces including a plurality of lanes, a plurality of rows, and one or more levels. The shuttle ( 108 ) is configured to be movable along at least one of the plurality of lanes at a top of the at least one lane, wherein goods in a storage space are disposed at the bottom of the storage space and the shuttle ( 108 ) is configured to pick up the goods by lifting the goods from the bottom of the storage space when the shuttle ( 108 ) is positioned above the goods.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to EuropeanApplication No. 17182351.1 filed on Jul. 20, 2017, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of warehousesystems. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to awarehouse system comprising a three-dimensional arrangement of storagespaces, a method for retrieving goods from a particular storage space inthe warehouse system as well as a shuttle for retrieving goods in thewarehouse system.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

In the industry, warehouses are used to store large amounts of goods inan organized manner. Warehouse systems typically employed nowadaysencompass a variety of types of storage systems ranging from simplepallet racks, allowing the storage of palletized goods in horizontalrows with multiple levels, to high bay warehouses, allowing the storageof goods in heights of up to 50 meters, for example. Stacker cranesmovable in lanes between two opposing rack fronts are typically employedto supply the racks with goods. The space necessary for these lanes isgenerally lost for the storage of goods, however, and, therefore, thesetypes of systems do not provide an optimal usage of space available in awarehouse.

Compact warehouse systems are another type of storage systems whichfocus on the efficient use of available space in a warehouse. Oneexample of compact warehouse systems are automated channel storagesystems in which multiple storage spaces are provided in the depth of arack in the form of channels accessible from the front or the back ofthe rack. Channel vehicles, so called shuttles, are used to move goodswithin the channels. An exemplary channel storage system is described inWO 2009/132687 A1, for example. In channel storage systems, however,goods within a channel can only be stored and retrieved in a first-infirst-out (FIFO) or last-in first-out (LIFO) manner and it is thus notpossible to directly access goods at any desired storage space within achannel, such as in the middle of a full channel, for example.

It is thus an object of the present disclosure to provide warehousesystem techniques that avoid at least one of these, or other, problems.

According to a first aspect, there is provided a warehouse systemcomprising a three-dimensional arrangement of storage spaces including aplurality of lanes extending in a longitudinal direction, a plurality ofrows extending in a transverse direction, and one or more levels in avertical direction. One or more cars for carrying goods are arranged inat least one of the plurality of rows, wherein the one or more cars in arespective row are drivable along the respective row in the transversedirection, and wherein the number of the one or more cars in therespective row is less than the number of the plurality of lanes. Thewarehouse system comprises at least one shuttle drivable to shift goodsalong at least one of the plurality of lanes in the longitudinaldirection.

Due to the three-dimensional structure, the warehouse system may also becalled a cubic warehouse system. From the viewpoint of the lanes, eachof the plurality of lanes may provide storage spaces one after anotherin the longitudinal direction of the warehouse system, wherein thenumber of storage spaces per lane corresponds to the number of theplurality of rows. Similarly, from the viewpoint of the rows, each ofthe plurality of rows may provide storage spaces one after another inthe transverse direction of the warehouse system, wherein the number ofstorage spaces per row corresponds to the number of the plurality oflanes. In other words, the warehouse system may provide athree-dimensional matrix of storage spaces, wherein, at eachintersection of the plurality of lanes and the plurality of rows on alevel, a storage space is formed. The longitudinal direction maycorrespond to a horizontal length of the warehouse system and thetransverse direction may correspond to a horizontal width of thewarehouse system.

In order to store goods at the storage spaces of the warehouse system,cars for carrying the goods may be employed. Each car may be dimensionedto fit into one storage space and a plurality of cars may be arrangedone after another in both lane and row directions (i.e., one car perstorage space). The one or more cars in a respective row may be arrangedto be drivable (or, more generally, to be movable) along the row in thetransverse direction. The number of cars arranged in each row may beless than the number of the plurality of lanes. In this way, it may beensured that each row at any time comprises at least one free storagespace (i.e., a storage space where no car is placed) which can be usedto temporarily relocate the cars in the respective row in the transversedirection so that a path in a lane required by a shuttle to access aparticular storage space in the longitudinal direction may be cleared.Each car may optionally comprise a removable tray on which the goods maybe placed. Goods themselves may be palletized.

While cars may be used to shift goods in the transverse direction of thewarehouse system, shuttles may be used to shift goods in thelongitudinal direction of the warehouse system. The warehouse system maythus comprise at least one shuttle which is drivable (or, moregenerally, movable) to shift goods along at least one (preferably each)of the plurality of lanes in the longitudinal direction. The at leastone shuttle may pick up goods from a car in a respective lane and shiftthe goods along the lane as needed. In one variant, the at least oneshuttle may comprise a warehouse-wide shuttle which may be relocatedbetween different lanes as well as different levels of the warehousesystem. In another variant, the at least one shuttle may compriselevel-wide shuttles which may be relocated between different lanes onthe same level, but not between different levels. In both variants,relocation of the shuttles in the transverse direction from one lane toanother may be carried out through movement of the respective shuttlealong a free row of the warehouse system in the transverse direction.The free row may be a dedicated row serving for the purpose oftransferring shuttles in the transverse direction which may not be usedfor the storage of goods. Lifts, on the other hand, may be used torelocate a shuttle from one level to another. In still another variant,the at least one shuttle may comprise separate shuttles for each of theplurality of lanes. In this variant, shuttles do not need to berelocated at all and free rows for relocating the shuttles in thetransverse direction may not be required.

When goods are to be retrieved by a shuttle from a particular storagespace, it may happen that, in the lane of the particular storage space,other storage spaces may be occupied (by cars and/or goods) that preventthe shuttle from shifting the goods from the particular storage space toan end of the lane, where the goods may be transferred further in otherdirections as needed. In such a situation, the goods are to be retrievedfrom a storage space which is not an outermost occupied storage space ina lane. To gain access to the particular storage space for transfer ofthe goods by the shuttle, a path required to shift the goods by theshuttle from the particular storage space to the end of the lane must becleared. The warehouse system may thus comprise a control system, suchas a warehouse management computer, for example, which, in order toretrieve goods from a particular storage space, may be configured todrive the one or more cars in at least one of the plurality of rows toclear a path in the lane of the particular storage space enabling the atleast one shuttle to shift the goods along the lane in the longitudinaldirection from the particular storage space to an end of the lane, anddrive the at least one shuttle to shift the goods along the cleared pathfrom the particular storage space to the end of the lane.

Clearing the path in the lane of the particular storage space may becarried out in various ways. In one variant, clearing the path in thelane of the particular storage space may comprise driving, for each rowfrom the end of the lane to (but not including) the particular storagespace (i.e., including the row at the end of the lane, but excluding therow of the particular storage space), at least one car of the one ormore cars in the respective row by at least one storage space in thetransverse direction so that the lane of the particular storage space iscleared in the respective row. The cars in each row may be driven in thetransverse direction in parallel so that the path in the lane of theparticular storage space may be cleared in just a single driving step.

In one variant of the warehouse system, the number of the one or morecars in each of the plurality of rows may be exactly one less than thenumber of the plurality of lanes. In a particular such variant, amongthe plurality of lanes, a particular lane may be empty before clearingthe path in the lane of the particular storage space, wherein drivingthe at least one car in the transverse direction shifts a particular caramong the one or more cars in the respective row into the particularlane. The particular lane may be a dedicated lane used for temporarystorage of cars until retrieving of goods from a particular storagespace is complete. The particular lane may be an outermost lane of thewarehouse system and the particular car may be an outermost car amongthe one or more cars in the respective row, for example. When retrievingis complete, the temporarily shifted cars may be shifted back as thecleared path is no longer needed.

In another variant, it is also conceivable that more than one lane amongthe plurality of lanes is empty for temporary storage of cars. Althoughthis may result in non-optimal use of space in the warehouse system, itmay increase throughput when a large number of goods is to be retrievedfrom the warehouse system simultaneously. Also, it will be understoodthat, rather than a particular lane which may be empty across all rows,it may be sufficient that each row has at least one empty storage space,while the empty storage spaces of the different rows may be available ondifferent lanes. In this case, provided that cars can be drivenindependently from each other, shifted cars do not necessarily have tobe shifted back to their initial position which may help to save energy.

For driving the cars, various realizations of driving mechanisms areconceivable. For example, each car may have a separate driving deviceinstalled at the respective car which may be controlled by the controlsystem, e.g., through signals transmitted to the respective car viawireless transmission. In another variant, only a subset of cars (e.g.,only one car) among the one or more cars in a respective row may bedrivable, wherein the subset of cars may be releasably coupled to theremaining (non-drivable) cars in the respective row so that theremaining cars can be driven indirectly via the subset of cars. In oneparticular variant, an outermost car in the respective row may form thesubset of cars. In such a case, rather than by a driving deviceinstalled at the car, the outermost car may be driven by a drivingdevice (e.g., a linear drive) installed at an end of the respective row,wherein the driving device may be coupled to the outermost car. Beforeclearing the path in the lane of the particular storage space (i.e., ina normal storage state), the one or more cars in the respective row maybe releasably coupled to one another and, when clearing the path, the atleast one car which is driven in the transverse direction may beuncoupled from the remaining cars in the respective row while theremaining cars remain at their positions.

It will be understood that, for the driving devices mentioned above,different drive technologies may be used. While electric motors may beone feasible variant, other technologies may be employed, such asmagnetic drives including magnetic linear drives, for example. Also, itwill be understood that control signals may not necessarily have to becommunicated to the cars via wireless transmission. Since, in the normalstorage state, the cars in a row may be coupled to one another, wirebound transmission of control signals from one car to another may beconceivable as well. Wire based power supply may be realized in the samemanner. The coupling between two adjacent cars may be implemented by amagnetic or a mechanical connection which may be released upon receiptof a corresponding uncoupling signal from the control system.

As described above, in the warehouse system of the present disclosure,cars may be used to shift goods in the transverse direction of thewarehouse system and shuttles may be used to shift goods in thelongitudinal direction of the warehouse system. To realize such linearmovability, the cars may be rail guided and comprise rollers engageablein rails extending along the plurality of rows in the transversedirection. The at least one shuttle may be rail guided as well andcomprise rollers engageable in rails extending along the plurality oflanes in the longitudinal direction. To avoid crossings of the rails ofthe cars and the rails of the shuttles, one of the rails of the cars andthe rails of the shuttles may extend at the bottom of the plurality ofrows or lanes, and the other one of the rails of the cars and the railsof the shuttles may extend at the top of the plurality of rows or lanes,respectively.

In one particular such variant, the one or more cars arranged in arespective row may be rail guided using rails extending at the bottom ofthe respective row and the at least one shuttle may be rail guided usingrails extending at the top of the plurality of lanes. The at least oneshuttle may then be configured to pick up goods from a car by lifting,when the shuttle is positioned above the car, the goods to an extentthat allows the goods to be shifted in the longitudinal direction of therespective lane. The goods may be placed on a removable tray on the car,wherein the at least one shuttle may comprise one or more gripping armsextending downwards for lifting the tray from the car. The shuttle andits characteristics will be described in more detail below withreference to a shuttle for retrieving goods in a warehouse systemaccording to the third aspect of the present disclosure.

In the above description, reference to the plurality of lanes and theplurality of rows of the warehouse system was mainly made by referringto a single level of the warehouse system. It will be understood,however, that the storage spaces of the warehouse system may beorganized into a plurality of levels in the vertical direction. In thiscase, the warehouse system may comprise at least one lift drivable totransfer goods from one of the plurality of levels to another one of theplurality of levels. When employing warehouse-wide shuttles, the atleast one lift may also be usable to transfer the at least one shuttlefrom one level to another. In a further variant, the warehouse systemmay comprise at least two groups of lifts, wherein one of the at leasttwo groups of lifts may exclusively be used for storing new goods in thewarehouse system and another one of the at least two groups of lifts mayexclusively be used for retrieving stored goods from the warehousesystem. In such a variant, it is conceivable that one group of lifts isarranged at one side of the warehouse system (e.g., at a side at whichnew goods are fed into the warehouse system) and another group isarranged at another side of the warehouse system (e.g., at a side atwhich retrieved goods are fed out of the warehouse system). A group oflifts may comprise a plurality of lifts, but may also be made up of asingle lift only. In this way, an efficient transfer of goods (orshuttles) between the levels of the warehouse system may be achieved.

To further enhance efficiency of transfer between levels, it will beunderstood that more than two lifts can generally be used in thewarehouse system, up to the number of the plurality of lanes or thenumber of the plurality of rows, for example. It is even conceivablethat lifts are provided on all four sides of the warehouse system sothat the total quantity of lifts may correspond to twice the number ofthe plurality of lanes plus twice the number of the plurality of rows.This may especially be helpful in case the warehouse system has a largenumber of levels, similar to high bay warehouses, where the verticalmovement of goods commonly forms a bottleneck.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method for retrievinggoods from a particular storage space in a warehouse system comprising athree-dimensional arrangement of storage spaces including a plurality oflanes extending in a longitudinal direction, a plurality of rowsextending in a transverse direction, and one or more levels in avertical direction. In the warehouse, one or more cars for carryinggoods are arranged in at least one of the plurality of rows, wherein theone or more cars in a respective row are movable along the respectiverow in the transverse direction, and wherein the number of the one ormore cars in the respective row is less than the number of the pluralityof lanes. The warehouse system comprises at least one shuttle movable toshift goods along at least one of the plurality of lanes in thelongitudinal direction. The method comprises moving the one or more carsin at least one of the plurality of rows to clear a path in the lane ofthe particular storage space enabling the at least one shuttle to shiftthe goods along the lane in the longitudinal direction from theparticular storage space to an end of the lane, and moving the at leastone shuttle to shift the goods along the cleared path from theparticular storage space to the end of the lane.

The method according to the second aspect may correspond to the methodsteps performed by the control system of the warehouse system accordingto the first aspect. Thus, the features described herein with referenceto the warehouse system of the first aspect may also be embodied in thesteps of the method of the second aspect, where applicable. Unnecessaryrepetitions are thus omitted in the following.

As in the first aspect, clearing the path in the lane of the particularstorage space may comprise moving, for each row from the end of the laneto the particular storage space, at least one car of the one or morecars in the respective row by at least one storage space in thetransverse direction so that the lane of the particular storage space iscleared in the respective row. Among the plurality of lanes, aparticular lane may be empty before clearing the path in the lane of theparticular storage space, wherein moving the at least one car in thetransverse direction may shift a particular car among the one or morecars in the respective row into the particular lane.

According a third aspect, there is provided a shuttle for retrievinggoods in a warehouse system comprising a three-dimensional arrangementof storage spaces including a plurality of lanes, a plurality of rows,and one or more levels. The shuttle is configured to be movable along atleast one of the plurality of lanes at a top of the at least one lane,wherein goods in a storage space are disposed at the bottom of thestorage space. The shuttle is configured to pick up the goods by liftingthe goods from the bottom of the storage space when the shuttle ispositioned above the goods.

The shuttle according to the third aspect may correspond to the at leastone shuttle of the warehouse system of the first aspect, and thewarehouse system in which the shuttle according to the third aspect isused may correspond to the warehouse system of the first aspect. Thus,those features described above in relation to the at least one shuttleand the warehouse system of the first aspect may be comprised by shuttleand the warehouse system according to the third aspect as well, and viceversa. Unnecessary repetitions are thus omitted in the following.

As in the first aspect, the shuttle may comprise rollers engageable inrails extending at the top of the at least one lane. For drivingpurposes, the shuttle may comprise a driving device configured to drivethe rollers to move the shuttle along the at least one lane. The drivingdevice may be controlled by a control system of the warehouse system,e.g., through signals transmitted to the shuttle via wirelesstransmission. The driving device may be an electric motor, for example,but may also be based on other drive technologies, such as magneticdrive technologies, for example.

The shuttle may comprise one or more gripping arms extending downwardsfrom a platform of the shuttle for lifting the goods from the bottom ofthe storage space. In one variant, each of the one or more gripping armsmay comprise a rod extending downwards from the platform of the shuttle,wherein the rod comprises a jaw and at a lower end thereof. The rod maybe rotatable about its longitudinal axis so as to turn the jaw to gripthe goods (e.g., via a pallet or a tray on which the goods are placed).The shuttle may comprise an actuator, such as an electrical actuator,which is configured to rotate the rod to either grip or release thegoods. When the shuttle comprises at least two gripping arms, theactuator may be configured to rotate the rods of the at least twogripping arms simultaneously. In such a case, there may be no need forseparate actuators for each gripping arm and, rather, all gripping armsmay be served by the same actuator.

The shuttle may further comprise a lifting device for lifting the goodswhen the one or more gripping arms grip the goods. The shuttle may inthis case comprise an upper platform and a lower platform, wherein oneof the upper and lower platform may be liftable with respect to theother one of the upper and lower platform using the lifting device, andwherein the one or more gripping arms may be fixed to the liftableplatform. In one such variant, the rollers of the shuttle may be mountedto the lower platform and the lower platform may thus be fixed in heightwhen the rollers engage the rails extending at the top of the at leastone lane. The upper platform may then be liftable with respect to thelower platform using the lifting device, wherein the one or moregripping arms may be fixed to the upper platform so that the grippingarms are lifted together with the upper platform. The lifting device maybe an electrically drivable lifting jack, for example.

When picking up the goods from the bottom of the storage space (e.g.,from a car positioned at the storage space, as described above), theshuttle may be configured to lift the goods to an extent that allows thegoods to be shifted by the shuttle along the at least one lane above thebottom of the at least one lane. This extent may be a minimal distancethat is sufficient to shift the goods along the at least one lanewithout contacting elements at the bottom of the at least one lane. Whenthe goods are placed on a removable tray at the bottom of the storagespace (e.g., a removable tray placed on a car, as described above), theshuttle may be configured to lift the tray together with the goods. Thegoods may optionally be palletized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following, the present disclosure will further be described withreference to exemplary implementations illustrated in the figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a warehouse system comprising athree-dimensional arrangement of storage spaces according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the warehouse system of FIG. 1indicating steps performed in a method for retrieving goods from aparticular storage space in the warehouse system;

FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a portion of thewarehouse system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed exploded view of a car with a tray andpalletized goods disposed thereon;

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a shuttle forretrieving goods in the warehouse system of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a docking stationusable to transfer a shuttle into a transverse direction of thewarehouse system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and notlimitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent toone skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced inother implementations that depart from these specific details.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an exemplary warehouse system100 which comprises a three-dimensional arrangement of storage spacesincluding a plurality of lanes extending in a longitudinal direction X,a plurality of rows extending in a transverse direction Z, and one ormore levels in a vertical direction Y of the warehouse system 100. Thewarehouse system 100 is formed by a rack frame structure 102 and, due toits three-dimensional structure, the warehouse system 100 may also becalled a cubic warehouse system. In FIG. 1, the number of lanes isdenoted by M, the number of rows is denoted by N, and the number oflevels is denoted by L. From the viewpoint of the lanes, each of thelanes provides storage spaces one after another in the longitudinaldirection X, beginning at row 1 and ending at row N. Similarly, from theviewpoint of the rows, each of the rows provides storage spaces oneafter another in the transverse direction Z, beginning at lane 1 andending at lane M. The plurality of levels ranges from level 1 to levelL.

In order to store goods at the storage spaces of the warehouse system100, cars 104 for carrying goods 106 (better visible in the detailedview of FIG. 3) may be employed in each row. Each car 104 may bedimensioned to fit into one storage space and a plurality of cars 104may be arranged one after another in both lane and row directions (i.e.,one car per storage space). The cars 104 in a row are drivable along therow in the transverse direction Z. In the example of FIG. 1, the numberof cars 104 arranged in each row is exactly one less than the number oflanes M. In this way, it is ensured that each row at any time comprisesat least one free storage space (i.e., a storage space where no car isplaced) which can be used to temporarily relocate the cars 104 in arespective row in the transverse direction Z so that a path in a lanerequired by a shuttle to access a particular storage space in thelongitudinal direction X may be cleared. Such situation is shown in theexample of FIG. 1 at level L, where a shuttle 108 is ready to be drivenalong lane m in the longitudinal direction X to pick up goods from aparticular storage space 110 (indicated by a cross “X” in the figures).On levels 1 to L−1, on the other hand, all cars 104 are in a normalstorage state, i.e., all cars 104 are carrying goods 106 and are parkedin the storage spaces in rows 1 to N of lanes 2 to M. A normal storagestate of a level may be said to be a state in which lane 1 is empty onthat level. Lane 1 may thus be used as temporary storage space for thoserows in which a path needs to be cleared, as explained above.

In FIG. 1, only one shuttle 108 is visible. The shuttle 108 may be awarehouse-wide shuttle which may be relocated between different lanes aswell as different levels of the warehouse system 100. Relocation of theshuttle 108 in the transverse direction Z from one lane to another maybe carried out through a temporary movement along row 0 which serves forthe purpose of transferring shuttles in the transverse direction Z andwhich may not be used for storing goods. A transfer of the shuttle 108in row 0 from one lane to another may be carried out using a dockingstation 112 (better visible in the detailed view of FIG. 3). The dockingstation 112 may be used to transfer the shuttle 108 to one of the lifts114 and 116 (indicated schematically only) as well which, in turn, maybe driven to transfer the shuttle 108 to other levels. As may be seen inFIG. 1, docking stations are also provided on other levels in row 0 totransfer shuttles on these levels in the transverse direction Z in anequivalent manner. In another variant, the shuttle 108 may be alevel-wide shuttle (e.g., the warehouse system 100 may comprise one ormore shuttles per level) which may be relocated between different laneson the same level, as described above, but not between different levels.In still another variant, the warehouse system 100 may comprise separateshuttles for each of the plurality of lanes. In such a variant,relocation of shuttles between different lanes via row 0 may not berequired at all. Goods could then be transferred at the end of the lanes(i.e., at row 1) to stacker cranes, for example. Thus, in such a case,row 0 and the lifts 114 and 116 may not be needed at all. In the exampleof FIG. 1, for an efficient transfer between levels in the warehousesystem 100, one of the lifts 114 and 116 may exclusively be used forstoring new goods in the warehouse system 100 and the other one of thelifts 114 and 116 may exclusively be used for retrieving stored goodsfrom the warehouse system 100.

FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the warehouse system 100 and indicatessteps performed in a method for retrieving goods from the particularstorage space 110 in the warehouse system 100. Generally, when goods areto be retrieved by a shuttle from a particular storage space, such asthe particular storage space 110, it may happen that, in the lane of theparticular storage space, other storage spaces may be occupied thatprevent the shuttle from shifting the goods from the particular storagespace to the end of the lane where the goods may be transferred furtherin other directions as needed. In such a situation, goods are to beretrieved from a storage space which is not an outermost occupiedstorage space in a lane. To gain access to the particular storage spacefor transfer of the goods by the shuttle, a path required to shift thegoods by the shuttle from the particular storage space to the end of thelane must be cleared.

In FIG. 2, a state is shown in which the path in lane m required by theshuttle 108 to retrieve goods from the particular storage space 110 hasalready been cleared. In the state illustrated, the shuttle 108 has notyet been driven to the particular storage space 110 to pick up the goods(cf. the same situation in FIG. 1). The particular storage space 110from which the goods are to be retrieved is the storage space at lane m,row n and level L of the warehouse system 100.

Prior to the state shown in FIG. 2, all cars 104 on level L have beenparked in the storage spaces in rows 1 to N of lanes 2 to M, whereaslane 1 was empty. To enable the shuttle 108 to shift the goods alonglane m in the longitudinal direction X from the particular storage space110 to the end of lane m (i.e., row 0 or row 1), a corresponding path inlane m had to be cleared. Thus, in a first step S202 (indicated byarrows pointing in the transverse direction Z in FIG. 2), the cars 104which were initially parked in lanes 2 to M (i.e., in the normal storagestate) were driven by one storage space in the transverse direction Z sothat, after performing step S202, these cars 104 were positioned inlanes 1 to m−1. This movement of the cars was performed for each rowfrom the end of lane m to (but not including) the particular storagespace 110, i.e., for rows 1 to n−1. In this way, a path in lane m hasbeen cleared from rows 1 to n−1, thereby enabling the shuttle 108 toaccess the particular storage space 110 and to shift goods along lane min the longitudinal direction X from the particular storage space 110 tothe end of lane m. In step S202, all cars 104 in rows 1 to n−1 weredriven in the transverse direction Z in parallel so that the path inlane m was cleared in just a single driving step.

Thereafter, in step S204 (indicated by an arrow pointing in thelongitudinal direction X in FIG. 2), the shuttle 108 may be driven tothe particular storage space 110, where the shuttle 108 may pick up thedesired goods and shift the goods along the cleared path from theparticular storage space 110 to the end of lane m. For example, theshuttle 108 may be driven until row 0, where the shuttle 108 may bereceived by the docking station 112 which, in turn, may transfer theshuttle 108 to one of the lifts 114 and 116. The lift may then be usedto transfer the goods from level L to another level. For example, thegoods may be transferred to level 1, where a transfer point may beprovided at which the goods may exit the warehouse system 100. Whenretrieving of the goods is complete, the temporarily shifted cars 104may be shifted back by one storage space in the opposite transversedirection Z (i.e., from lanes 1 to m−1 back to lanes 2 to m) as thecleared path is no longer needed. Lane 1 may thus be considered as adedicated lane used for temporary storage of outermost cars 104 untilthe retrieving of goods is completed.

It will be understood that the above-described method of retrievinggoods from the particular storage space 110 represents an effective wayfor clearing a required path since just a single driving step is neededto clear the required path. It will further be understood that it isgenerally conceivable that other relocation variants may be applied forclearing the respective path. This is generally possible because goodscan be moved in both the longitudinal direction X and the transversedirection Z in the warehouse system 100. For example, it is conceivablethat more than one lane among the plurality of lanes is empty fortemporary storage of cars 104. Although this may result in non-optimaluse of space in the warehouse system 100, it may increase throughputwhen a large number of goods is to be retrieved from the warehousesystem 100 simultaneously. Also, it will be understood that, rather thana particular lane which is empty across all rows (such as lane 1 in theexample described above), it may be sufficient that each row has atleast one empty storage space, while the empty storage spaces of thedifferent rows may be available on different lanes. In this case,provided that the cars 104 can be driven independently from each other,shifted cars 104 do not necessarily have to be shifted back to theirinitial position which may help to save energy.

FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a portion of thewarehouse system 100 including rows 0 and 1 and lanes 1 and 2 onlevel 1. In the example shown, an outermost car 104 of row 1 (with goods106 placed thereon) is positioned in lane 2, whereas lane 1 is empty.Further, a shuttle 108 is positioned over the outermost car 104 in row 1and a docking station 112 is positioned in lane 2 of row 0 and, thus,ready to receive the shuttle 108. Respective double arrows indicate thatthe cars 104 in row 1 and the docking station 112 may be moved in thetransverse direction Z and the shuttle 108 may be moved in thelongitudinal direction X.

To realize such linear movability, the cars 104 are rail guided in rails118 extending along row 1 in the transverse direction Z. The shuttle 108is rail guided as well in rails 120 extending along lane 2 in thelongitudinal direction X. To avoid crossings of the rails 118 and therails 120, the rails 118 extend at the bottom of row 1 and the rails 120extend at the top of lane 2. The shuttle 108 is configured to pick upthe goods 106 from the car 104 by lifting the goods 106 to an extentthat allows the goods 106 to be shifted in the longitudinal direction Xin lane 2.

For driving the cars 104 in row 1, a driving device 122 is installed atthe end of row 1, wherein the driving device 122 is coupled to theoutermost car 104 of row 1 to drive the outermost car 104 in thetransverse direction Z in row 1. In the normal storage state, all cars104 in row 1 are releasably coupled to one another. Therefore, although,among the cars 104 in row 1, only the outermost car 104 is drivable bythe driving device 122, the remaining cars 104 in row 1 are indirectlydrivable via the outermost car 104. In the illustrated example, thedriving device 122 is given as an electric motor capable of generating areciprocating movement of the outermost car 104 via a coupling rod 124.When a path in a particular lane is to be cleared in row 1, those cars104 in row 1 which are to be driven in the transverse direction Z to theoutermost lane 1 may be uncoupled from the remaining cars 104 in row 1so that only the uncoupled cars 104 are moved in the transversedirection Z, while the remaining cars 104 remain at their positions. Infact, such uncoupling may have been performed before step S202 in theexample of FIG. 2, where those cars 104 in rows 1 to n−1 which have beenpositioned in lane m in the normal storage state may have been uncoupledfrom the cars 104 in lane m+1 so that the cars 104 could be moved in thetransverse direction Z from lanes 2 to m to lanes 1 to m−1,respectively.

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed exploded view of a car 104 with goods 106disposed thereon. In FIG. 4, it is shown that the goods 106 may beplaced on a pallet 126 which, in turn, may be disposed on a tray 128which, again, may be removably placed on the car 104. When the shuttle108 is positioned above the car 104 (as it is the case in FIG. 3, forexample), the shuttle 108 may pick up the goods 106 from the car 104 bylifting the goods 106 to a certain extent. Respective gripping arms ofthe shuttle 108 may either grip the pallet 126 or the tray 128 for thispurpose. FIG. 4 also shows the driving device 122 together with thecoupling rod 124 which may be coupled to the outermost car 104 in arespective row via a bracket 130. The coupling between two adjacent cars104 in a row, in turn, may be realized by a releasable magneticconnection (indicated by a magnet 132).

For any of the above-described relocation techniques, a control systemof the warehouse system 100 (not shown), such as a warehouse managementcomputer, for example, may provide corresponding control signals to thecars 104, the shuttles 108, the docking stations 112 and/or the drivingdevices 122 to control them as needed. Control signals may betransmitted via wireless transmission, for example. However, since, inthe normal storage state, the cars 104 in a row may be coupled to oneanother, it is also conceivable to realize wire bound transmission ofcontrol signals from one car to another. Wire based power supply may beprovided in the same manner. In order to uncouple a car 104 from anadjacent car, a corresponding uncoupling signal may be transmitted fromthe control system to the respective car.

It will further be understood that other driving mechanisms for the cars104 (i.e., other than the mechanism which uses the driving devices 122)may be used. In one such variant, each car 104 may have a separatedriving device installed at the car itself which may be controlled bythe control system, e.g., through signals transmitted via wirelesstransmission. Further, while electric motors may be a feasibleimplementation for driving devices, other drive technologies may beemployed, such as magnetic drives including magnetic linear drives, forexample. Also, it will be appreciated that the coupling between twoadjacent cars may not only be realized by magnetic connections, asindicated above, but may also be realized by appropriate mechanicalconnections, for example.

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a shuttle 108 forretrieving goods in the warehouse system 100. As explained above, theshuttle 108 is generally configured to be movable along the lanes of thewarehouse system 100 and to pick up goods 106 by lifting the goods 106from the bottom of a storage space, e.g., from a car 104 which ismovable along the bottom of a respective row, when the shuttle 108 ispositioned above the goods 106 (e.g., over the car 104).

As shown in FIG. 5, the shuttle 108 comprises rollers 134 which areengageable in the rails 120 (cf. FIG. 3) extending at the top of thelanes of the warehouse system 100. For driving purposes, the shuttle 108may comprise a driving device (not shown) which is configured to drivethe rollers 134 to move the shuttle 108 along the respective lane. Thedriving device of the shuttle 108 may be controlled by the controlsystem of the warehouse system 100, e.g., through signals transmitted tothe shuttle 108 via wireless transmission. The driving device may be anelectric motor, but may also be realized using other drive technologies,such as magnetic drives, for example.

In the illustrated example, the shuttle 108 comprises four rods 136extending downwards from a lower platform 138 which function as grippingarms of the shuttle 108 for gripping the goods 106 and lifting the goods106 from the bottom of the storage space. Each rod 136 comprises a jaw140 at a lower end thereof, wherein the rods 136 are rotatable abouttheir longitudinal axes so as to turn the jaws 140 to grip the goods106. More specifically, the jaws 140 may engage the pallet 126 or thetray 128 (cf. FIG. 4) on which the goods 106 are disposed. Rotatingdirections of the rods 136 are indicated in FIG. 5 using respectivearrows. The shuttle 108 further comprises actuators 142 which areconfigured to rotate the rods 136 so as to either grip or release thegoods 106 (e.g., via the pallet 126 or the tray 128, respectively). Inthe example shown, two separate actuators 142 are provided, each ofwhich is capable of generating a reciprocating movement and each ofwhich is coupled via levers 144 to two of the rods 136 so as to rotatethe two of the rods 136 simultaneously.

The shuttle 108 further comprises a lifting device 146 (shownschematically only) for lifting the goods 106 when the gripping arms 136grip the goods 106. The lifting device 146 is arranged at the lowerplatform 138 and is configured to lift an upper platform 148 (indicatedin dashed lines) with respect to the lower platform 138. In the exampleshown, the rollers 134 are mounted to the lower platform 138 and,therefore, when the rollers 134 engage the rails 120 extending at thetop of a respective lane, the shuttle 108 is fixed in height and, whenthe upper platform 148 is lifted with respect to the lower platform 138,the upper platform 148 is lifted with respect to the bottom of thestorage space as well. The rods 136 are fixed to the upper platform 148and, therefore, when the upper platform 148 is lifted with respect tothe lower platform 138, the rods 136 are lifted with respect to thebottom of the storage space. Further, the rods 136 are guided throughsliding sleeves 150 which allow vertical movement of the rods 136 withrespect to the lower platform 138. Stop rings 152 limit the verticalmovement of the upper platform 148 to a predetermined lifting height.The lifting device 146 may be an electrically drivable lifting jack, forexample.

When picking up the goods 106 from the bottom of the storage (e.g., froma car 104 positioned at the storage space), the shuttle 108 may beconfigured to lift the goods 106 to an extent that allows the goods 106to be shifted by the shuttle 108 along the bottom of the respectivelane. This extent may be a minimal distance which is sufficient to shiftthe goods along the lane without contacting elements at the bottom ofthe lane.

FIG. 6 illustrates a detailed perspective view of a docking station 112which is arranged in row 0 of the warehouse system 100. As describedabove, the docking station 112 may be configured to receive the shuttle108 from a respective lane of the warehouse system 100 and transfer theshuttle 108 in the transverse direction Z to another lane on the samelevel or to one of the lifts 114 and 116. To be able to receive theshuttle 108 and transfer of the shuttle 108 in the transverse directionZ, the docking station 112 comprises rails 154 which are mounted to aplatform 156 using brackets 158. As shown in FIG. 3, the rails 154 ofthe docking station 112 may be brought into alignment with the rails 120extending at the top of a respective lane so that the shuttle 108 may bedriven into the docking station 112. To be able to be moved in thetransverse direction Z, the docking station 112 comprises rollers 160which engage rails 162 (cf. FIG. 3) extending at the top of row 0 in thetransverse direction Z. Similar to the shuttle 108, the docking station112 may comprise a driving device (not shown) which is configured todrive the rollers 160 to move the docking station 112 along row 0 in thetransverse direction Z. Also, the driving device of the docking station112 may be controlled by the control system of the warehouse system 100,e.g., through signals transmitted to the docking station 112 viawireless transmission, for example.

As has become apparent from the above, the present disclosure providestechniques for automated warehouse systems which enable direct access toany desired storage space provided in the warehouse systems. Thecapability of accessing any goods at any time makes it possible toimplement warehouse systems as single three-dimensional racks systemsthat utilize the space available in a warehouse almost entirely. Spacesbetween opposing rack fronts required for stacker cranes that supplyopposing racks with goods may thus no longer be needed. Compactwarehouse systems with improved space savings and improved accessibilityof goods may thus be achieved.

It is believed that the advantages of the technique presented hereinwill be fully understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructions andarrangement of the exemplary aspects thereof without departing from thescope of the disclosure or without sacrificing all of its advantageouseffects. Because the technique presented herein can be varied in manyways, it will be recognized that the disclosure should be limited onlyby the scope of the claims that follow.

1. A shuttle (108) for retrieving goods (106) in a warehouse system(100) comprising a three-dimensional arrangement of storage spacesincluding a plurality of lanes, a plurality of rows, and one or morelevels, the shuttle (108) being configured to be movable along at leastone of the plurality of lanes at a top of the at least one lane, whereingoods (106) in a storage space are disposed at the bottom of the storagespace and the shuttle (108) is configured to pick up the goods (106) bylifting the goods (106) from the bottom of the storage space when theshuttle (108) is positioned above the goods (106).
 2. The shuttle (108)of claim 1, comprising rollers (134) engageable in rails (120) extendingat the top of the at least one lane.
 3. The shuttle (108) of claim 2,comprising a driving device configured to drive the rollers (134) tomove the shuttle (108) along the at least one lane.
 4. The shuttle (108)of claim 1, comprising one or more gripping arms extending downwardsfrom a platform (138) of the shuttle (108) for lifting the goods (106)from the bottom of the storage space.
 5. The shuttle (108) of claim 2,comprising one or more gripping arms extending downwards from a platform(138) of the shuttle (108) for lifting the goods (106) from the bottomof the storage space.
 6. The shuttle (108) of claim 3, comprising one ormore gripping arms extending downwards from a platform (138) of theshuttle (108) for lifting the goods (106) from the bottom of the storagespace.
 7. The shuttle (108) of claim 4, wherein each of the one or moregripping arms comprises a rod (136) extending downwards from theplatform (138) of the shuttle (108), wherein the rod (136) comprises ajaw (140) at a lower end thereof, and wherein the rod (136) is rotatableabout its longitudinal axis so as to turn the jaw (140) to grip thegoods (106).
 8. The shuttle (108) of claim 7, comprising an actuator(142) configured to rotate the rod (136).
 9. The shuttle (108) of claim8, comprising at least two gripping arms, wherein the actuator (142) isconfigured to rotate the rods (136) of the at least two gripping armssimultaneously.
 10. The shuttle (108) of claim 1, comprising a liftingdevice (146) for lifting the goods (106) when the one or more grippingarms grip the goods (106).
 11. The shuttle (108) of claim 2, comprisinga lifting device (146) for lifting the goods (106) when the one or moregripping arms grip the goods (106).
 12. The shuttle (108) of claim 3,comprising a lifting device (146) for lifting the goods (106) when theone or more gripping arms grip the goods (106).
 13. The shuttle (108) ofclaim 4, comprising a lifting device (146) for lifting the goods (106)when the one or more gripping arms grip the goods (106).
 14. The shuttle(108) of claim 7, comprising a lifting device (146) for lifting thegoods (106) when the one or more gripping arms grip the goods (106). 15.The shuttle (108) of claim 8, comprising a lifting device (146) forlifting the goods (106) when the one or more gripping arms grip thegoods (106).
 16. The shuttle (108) of claim 9, comprising a liftingdevice (146) for lifting the goods (106) when the one or more grippingarms grip the goods (106).
 17. The shuttle (108) of claim 10, comprisingan upper platform (148) and a lower platform (138), wherein one of theupper and lower platform (148, 138) is liftable with respect to theother one of the upper and lower platform (148, 138) using the liftingdevice (146), wherein the one or more gripping arms are fixed to theliftable platform (148).
 18. The shuttle (108) of claim 1, wherein theshuttle (108) is configured to lift the goods (106) to an extent thatallows the goods (106) to be shifted along the at least one lane abovethe bottom of the at least one lane.
 19. The shuttle (108) of claim 1,wherein the goods (106) are placed on a removable tray (128) at thebottom of the storage space, and wherein the shuttle (108) is configuredto lift the tray (128) together with the goods (106).